Coconut Bread

I had a bag of shredded coconut (sweetened) lying around, and decided to look for some recipes to use it up. I didn't feel like going out to the store to purchase any extra ingredients, so I limited myself to recipes with ingredients I already had. I came across this recipe for Coconut Bread on allrecipes.com and made a couple alterations. It needed a bit longer in the oven then the recommended 50-55 minutes. My loaf spent closer to 60-65 minutes in the oven before a toothpick came out clean after being inserted into the center of the bread. I also didn't have almond extract, so I substituted an extra 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract. 

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter (room temperature)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 1 egg
• 2 cups flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup milk
• 3/4 cup flaked coconut **

** I used shredded coconut, I'm not really sure what the difference is.

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 350F.
• Cream the butter and sugar together in a mixer.
• Add the egg and vanilla and almond extracts.
• Add the flour in thirds, alternating with the cup of milk. 
• Fold in the coconut.
• Pour the batter into a greased loaf tin.
• Bake 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
• Place the loaf on a wire tray to cool before serving.

The bread turned out to be moist and sweet, an ideal accompaniment for a cup of coffee or tea. 

I plan on trying this recipe again, with the almond extract because I love anything almond.